Hoof-pad.



PATBNTED JULY 14, 1903.

W. J. KENT.

HOOP PAD.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG'. 1e. 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES.

PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR: #ifm/ @n By llomeys,

W. J. KENT.

HOOP PAD.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 16. 1902.

No MODEL.

WTNESSES:

NTTED STATES Patented July 14, 1903. j

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. KENT, OFRROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR To REvERE RUBBERCOMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

lHoor-PAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 733,656, dated. July14, 1903.

Application led August 16, 1902. Serial N0. 119,881. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. KENT, a citizen of the United States,residingin the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inHoof-Pads, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to rubber hoof-pads for use in shoeing horses toreduce the shock or impact of the usual steel shoe or tip against hardpavements. Such pads have usually been made with a bar of solid rubberat the heel portion, which for a three-quarters shoe or tip extendsentirely across the heel. It has also been common to extend a ridge ofrubber around within the contour of the shoe. Pads having a bulbousportion within the shoe, forming an air-chamber against the sole of thefoot, have been largely used and have proved very successful.

My present invention aims to produce a pad in which the density orfirmness of the rubber cushion shall be modied or graduated overdifferent parts of the foot in order to afford the irmest cushion at thequarters and a more yielding cushion over the more sensitive parts ofthe foot-thatis to say, over the frog and along the sides of the solewithin the shoe. To this end I form the pad with thick solidcushioningmasses of rubber beyond the heel portions of the shoe, so asto come beneath the quarters or outside heels of the hoof. I also in apad which employs a rubber cushion extending around within the shoe employasimilarsolid mass j ust behind the toe of the shoe. Elsewhere thecushion instead of being of solid rubber is modified by being madecellular, or by removing intermediate portions of the rubber, so as toleave cells, cavities, spaces, or recesses, such as without necessarilyvarying the thickness or depth of the cushion, will materially increaseits yielding quality, rendering it less resistant and more yielding orelastic. These cells or cavities are closed on the bottom to form asolid wearing-face, and they may be open above, so as to formair-chambers communicating with the sole of the hoof, so that whenpressed. under the weight the air forced out from them may bemomentarily compressed against the foot to add to the cushioning eectand may immediately escape through any convenient aperture-as, forexample, through the clefts of the frog. In such case if a leather soleis used it is pro- 5'5 vided with openings coinciding with the airchambers or Cells. It is, however, within my invention to close thechambers or air-cells, which may convenientlyT be done in the case of apad havinga leather sole by forming the 6o leather Without openings andcementing it fast to the rubber pad. In either construction thecharacteristic feature of my invention is preserved-that is to say, theresiliency of the rubber cushion is modified by forming any desiredportions of the cushion with its mass reduced or in effect cut away, soas -to form successive recesses, cells, or chambers, whereby theyielding'quality of the cushion thus modified is increased in contrastwith 7o the relatively unyielding solid portions of the cushion locatedpreferably at the quarters.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown several forms or embodimentsof my invention. 1

Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 an under side plan, of a pad.constituting the preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section thereof on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section 8o thereof in the plane of the line 4 4: in Fig. 3.Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical transverse sections in the planes,respectively, of the lines 5 5 and 6 6 in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a sideelevation corresponding to Fig. l, showing a modified construction ofpad. Fig. 8 is ahorizontal section corresponding to Fig. 4. of a similarpad. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal mid -section corresponding to Fig. 3 cuton the line 9 9 in Fig. 8. 9o

Referring to the drawings, let A designate the usual leather sole orreinforce, and B the rubber base or body of the pad. The latter is made,as heretofore, with a flanged portion a, which overlies the shoe or tip,forming a seat therefor, and with a thick cushion C of solid rubber atthe outer heels or quarters behind the shoe. The leather and rubberportions are commonly united by being cemented together and also by rowsof stitching b loo and b. It is preferable also to unite these parts byrivets c c at suitable intervals, preferably in the positions shown inFigs. 2 and 4. The rubber body of the pad is preferably formed, asusual, with a strengthening-layer of canvas D, embedded in andvulcanized to the rubber'.

It is desirable in a horseshoe-pad to provide cushions of solid rubberbeneath those parts of the foot which are subject to the greatest shock,and which require most firm support, and which being naturally of theleast sensitiveness are best able to endure a firm pressure, and toprovide fora diminished pressure against the more sensitive parts of thefoot. The least sensitive parts of the foot are the outer portions,where the sole is supported by the horny wall, and the more sensitiveportions are those parts of the sole and frog which are well within thehorny wall. According to my invention I provide cushions of solid rubberat the heel portions or quarters, Where they are adapted to receive theweight and shock and communicate it directly to the insensitive outerheels or quarters of the foot, and also, if desired, I provide a similarbut preferably smaller and lighter cushion at the toe just within thebend of the shoe, and beneath the more sensitive portions of the foot Ireduce the resistance of the cushion by making it cellular, so as torender it somewhat spongy and graduate or diminish the pressure or shockcommunicated to the more sensitive parts of the foot.

In the construction shown in Figs. l to 6 the outer heel-cushions O Care of solid rubber, while theintervening cushion, which as a whole islettered E,is of cellular rubber. The toe-cushion F is of solid rubber,being, however, narrower and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, shallower or ofless depth than the heelcushions. In this form of pad there is acontinuous cushion or ridge of rubber G extending from and merging intothe heel-cushions C C and sweeping around just within the contour of theshoe, as shown best in Fig. 2. The front .or middle portion of thisridge is formed by the solid toe-cushion E, while the side portionsthereof are formed of cellular rubber to constitute cushions H I'I, asshown best in Eig. et. The cellular rubber cushions are formed,preferably, by moldingin the rubber a series or succession of air cellsor chainbers d d. These are best arranged in the manner shown in Fig. 4.They are best formed as cavities, which open above or on the upper sideor side next the foot7 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The leather sole Amaybe formed with Vholes or perforations e e, which overlie orcoincidewith the air-cells, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The effect of this isthat when the foot strikes the ground the resulting compression of therubber pad compresses the air in the cells or chambers d d and causes anoutflow of air from them through the openings e e into the space betweenthe leather sole and the sole of the foot,rfrom which space the excessof air may escape through the clefts of the frog, so that at each stepsuch outflow of air occurs as the foot is put down, followed by acorresponding inflow of air as the foot is raised. Thus a sucientcirculation of air is maintained to properly ventilate the foot.

My pad thus constructed has the advantage of graduating the pressurecommunicated to the foot according to the natural adaptability of thefoot to endure pressure or shocks. The rubber body of the pad presentsan eX- tended surface for contact with the ground or pavement, forreceiving the Wear, and for prevention of slipping. This surface may beroughened or modified in any suitable way to give it a better hold uponthe pavementas, for example, by the provision of small projections orpipes ff. The cellular structure of the cushioning portions of therubber base has the effect of reducing the weight for a given size andproportion of pad, which is advantageous both in diminishing the loadcarried by the horses foot and in cheapening the pad by reducing theamount of stock required.

IVhile according to my complete invention it is preferable to extend thecushioning parts of the rubber pad around within the inner contour ofthe shoe, .as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, yet my invention may be availed ofin a pad wherein the cushioning portion is omitted. In Figs. 7, S, and 9is shown a bar-pad or one havinga projecting cushion only across theheel portion of the foot. This cushion is composed of the solidheel-cushion C C and intermediate cellular cushion E, already described.The leather sole A is shaped to cover the entire sole of the horsesfoot,while the rubber body may have a liange or web Ct' practicallycoincident in outline with the leather, as shown in Fig. 7, or thisanged portion may be cut away to the outline of the part c2 in Fig. S.To stiften the heelcushions, fillets or bracket portions g g-areprovided.

In some cases it is preferable to make the cellular cushion moreresilient by confining the air in the air cells or chambers CZ d, forwhich purpose these cells are closed on all sides, which mayconveniently be done by forming the leather sole A without perforationsand cementing it hermetically to the rubber body, as shown in Fig. 9.

My invention may be otherwise modified without departingfrom itsessential features herein fully set forth and which I will endeavor todefine in the claims.

I am aware that it has been proposed to make a horseshoe-pad with acontinuous airpassage or annular air-chamber extending entirely aroundthe pad. My invention is clearly distinguishable from such proposedconstruction in that the air cells, chambers, or recesses of my pad areintermittent, so that the IIO rubber cushion is rendered cellular,somewhat after the' manner of a sponge, and so as to afford a somewhatspongy cushion, and in that the spongy cushions are disposed under themost sensitive parts of the foot, with cushions of solid rubberaffording iirm support to the insensitive portions. My invention is alsoto be distinguished from those pads in which suction cavities or cupsare formed in the solid rubber for increasing the hold or grip on theroad-bed. Such suctioncups are too widely separated in a solid rubbercushion to convert the latter, in any proper sense, into a cellularcushion. Itis characteristic of the cellular. cushion provided by myinvention that s0 large a proportion of the rubber is removed to formthe air-cavities as to materially diminishthe resistant properties ofthe rubber cushion, thereby giving it a spongy texture by reason of theflexibility of the walls bounding or separating the air-cavities, sothat these walls under pressure may squeeze or be compressed into thecavities.

It is to be understood that in referring to rubber or resilient rubberin thisspeci fication I mean any ordinary vulcanized rubber compositionhaving sufficient resiliency to render it suitable for a horseshoe-pad.

l. A hoof-pad having a body of resilient rubber formed with a series ofadjacent cells closed at their lower sides whereby a pneumaticcushioning eiect is imparted tothe pad.

2. A hoof-pad having a body of resilient rubber formed in its upperportion with a series of cells, closed at their lower sides, andconstituting pneumatic cushions.

3. A hoof-pad having a body of resilient rubber formed in its upperportion with a series of cells, said cells closed to conne the airwithin them.

4. Ahoof-pad having a body of resilient rubber formed in its upperportion with a series of cells, open at top, and a reinforcelayerattached to said body, and closing the open tops of said cells.

5. A hoof -pad having a body of resilient rubber formed in its upperportion with a series of cells closed at their lower sides, and areinforce-layer of leather attached to the upper face of said body.

6. A hoof -pad having a body of resilient rubber formed withsolid rubbercushions at the outer heel portions, and with a series of cells, closedat their lower sides, in the intermediate portion beneath the frog,whereby to diminish the pressureimparted to the frog.

7. A hoof-pad having a body of resilient rubber formed with solid rubbercushions at the outer heel portions, with a seat for the shoe, and withcushions extending within the contour of the sides of the shoe formedwith a series of cells, to diminish thepressure

